Headlight issues

[JWS1989]

The headlight appears to be mounted as original and properly.
Looks to be no more prone to vibration than any stock mounted headlight.
Nice!
Did you ever have the original headlight mounted in there ? Perhaps an Automotive Sylvania H6024 is just not as good with vibrations?

That was precisely my thoughts. I Believe the headlight that was on the bike when I purchased it was the original. It had a crack in the front lens, but it still worked. I changed it because it was broken, I then dropped it and it's now in about 500 pieces.

 

[JWS1989]

Yes, the vibration is tough on the wiring. I found several rubbed bare wires on mine when I got it, some back around the battery box and some inside the headlight.

Actually there are burnt spots on the ground wire connection on the pigtail. I thought it was an issue but the new headlight worked fine, for a while.

 

[Team Junk]

Intermittent ground will destroy a headlight bulb quickly.
$10.00 auto sealed beam headlights don't last long being shook to death.

The only non oem headlight I ever got to work for very long was a Hella hi power bulb in the stock reflector.

 

[5twins]

Yes, you might have better luck with a motorcycle specific light. There's an H-4 unit from some other later model Yamahas that fits right in. You might score a reasonably priced one off eBay. Here's the light .....

https://www.partzilla.com/product/y...?ref=a7a2026779b63b880fed9d0b0e5e7c346216dd1e

I got one from an XS850 triple, complete headlight assembly, bucket and all, for about $25.

 

[Jim]

I found some small burn marks inside the chromed shell on mine and realized the wire insulation was worn from rubbing and vibration and the reason my low beam kept blowing out.

Yes... bare rubbing wires need to be addressed, but contrary to popular belief, that's not gonna burn out a headlight element... nor any other bulb for that matter.
When a bare wire shorts to ground, all the current passing through that wire is diverted to ground. In other words, that current isn't getting to the bulb, it's getting dumped back into the frame. So the bulb see's less current in a partial short and no current in a direct short. Reduced or no current flow through the bulb will not blow it.
A partial short might or might not blow a fuse, a direct short will blow a fuse. Neither case will damage the bulb.

 

[Jim]

Intermittent ground will destroy a headlight bulb quickly.

Yes, especially an intermittent opening gnd that tracks the engine vibes. Bulbs initially draw a lot more current when first turned on. When the element heats up, resistance increases and current draw drops a lot. This is very rapid. An intermittent gnd would constantly turn the bulb on and off... so the element would quickly overheat and burn out. So let me amend my statement above. If you had a power wire shorting and un-shorting like I just described the gnd doing, it's (remotely) possible it could overheat the element in the same manner. It's a thousand times more likely the fuse would blow before it got to that point.

 

[JWS1989]

Yes, especially an intermittent opening gnd that tracks the engine vibes. Bulbs initially draw a lot more current when first turned on. When the element heats up, resistance increases and current draw drops a lot. This is very rapid. An intermittent gnd would constantly turn the bulb on and off... so the element would quickly overheat and burn out. So let me amend my statement above. If you had a power wire shorting and un-shorting like I just described the gnd doing, it's (remotely) possible it could overheat the element in the same manner. It's a thousand times more likely the fuse would blow before it got to that point.

Well, before it blew it was constantly flickering, and like I said the ground has spots that look like something burned through the connector insulation. Could this be my issue?

 

[Jim]

Well, before it blew it was constantly flickering, and like I said the ground has spots that look like something burned through the connector insulation. Could this be my issue?

Yes, if it's flickering it's being turned on and off rapidly. That will shorten it's life. Bare insulation on the ground won't cause the ground to short to ground.... 'cause it's already grounded. So no, bare ground wire won't cause it. An intermittent ground wire will though. I f it's that ragged, replace it and see if the flickering goes away.

 

[Goldenboy]

Yes, especially an intermittent opening gnd that tracks the engine vibes. Bulbs initially draw a lot more current when first turned on. When the element heats up, resistance increases and current draw drops a lot. This is very rapid. An intermittent gnd would constantly turn the bulb on and off... so the element would quickly overheat and burn out. So let me amend my statement above. If you had a power wire shorting and un-shorting like I just described the gnd doing, it's (remotely) possible it could overheat the element in the same manner. It's a thousand times more likely the fuse would blow before it got to that point.

Bare wire from vibration, (which I wasn't aware of at the time), intermittent flickering and rapid aceleration equalled a blown fillament on 3 occasions. Now, I'm also wondering if chroming the headlight shell increased the likelyhood of this happening, as the painted surface may have afforded a little more insulation.

 

[Goldenboy]

Yes, you might have better luck with a motorcycle specific light. There's an H-4 unit from some other later model Yamahas that fits right in. You might score a reasonably priced one off eBay. Here's the light .....

https://www.partzilla.com/product/y...?ref=a7a2026779b63b880fed9d0b0e5e7c346216dd1e

I got one from an XS850 triple, complete headlight assembly, bucket and all, for about $25.

Yes, you might have better luck with a motorcycle specific light. There's an H-4 unit from some other later model Yamahas that fits right in. You might score a reasonably priced one off eBay. Here's the light .....

https://www.partzilla.com/product/y...?ref=a7a2026779b63b880fed9d0b0e5e7c346216dd1e

I got one from an XS850 triple, complete headlight assembly, bucket and all, for about $25.

I got this H-4 from Mikes, $22.50 plus $4.50 for the "W" clips that snap right in. Also, a high intensity blue bulb for $8.50 that also snaps right in and can be purchased at any auto parts store. It comes with a rubber boot which fits over the plug that fits the OEM female plug.